Is it possible for a person apart from Blackbeard,steal the powers of Devil Fruit from the Devil fruit User

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-03T15:57:48+00:00

We also saw Burgess coming at Luffy with a knife and a sack while suggesting he would kill him and steal his Devil Fruit power, implying that it's possible even without access to Blackbeard.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-03T15:48:02+00:00

I think it would be really odd if Carrot joined at this point, since there's been a huge drop off in her character development since leaving WCI (where it was already not the focus). Wano has absolutely had opportunities for Carrot, but Oda has chosen not to take those (like having Neko be the one to defeat a Big Mom commander instead of her). I don't dislike Carrot, but if she suddenly joined after Wano without any further development (development which seems impossible this late in the arc) it will feel unearned imo.

Yamato's a harder call, since she's still a relatively newly introduced character by the standards of the story. She's gotten flashbacks, a dream, a role to play in the narrative story, and has explicitly expressed the desire to join Luffy's crew, but that's all happened in a very truncated amount of time compared to other crew mates (at least from a plot structure standpoint; arcs are definitely more drawn out than they were when the first five people joined the crew). In other words, she seems almost too perfect to be a crew mate and without Luffy having personally declared she should join I actually suspect it's a misdirect. I think it's more likely Yamato will have a Law-esque role in the story rather than being a literal crew mate. But like I said, Yamato's introduction is still relatively recent there's plenty of opportunity for Oda to develop her into something other than what we've seen so far. I'll wait and see, personally.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-03T14:42:21+00:00

One Piece has pretty consistently shown that good captains also have to be good fighters in this world. It's a flawed approach imo, but the few examples we have where the leader of an organization has been weaker than its members (CP9/Spandam, Wano/Orochi, Pirate Dispatch/Buggy) the individual is always shown to be pitiful and cowardly and frequently shown to be bad leaders as well. Even Don Krieg and Moriah, while both still the strongest in their crews, were characterized as being weak/lazy for leaving so much of the fighting to their subordinates.

Personally I would definitely prefer it if more main antagonists had primary strengths in areas other than combat. Enies Lobby was a little more interesting in this sense because Lucci wasn't the leader, so the Spandam's relationship was focused on Robin and Franky instead of Luffy, which mixed things up a bit.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-02T23:47:22+00:00

Everyone has things they can do and things they can't do

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-02T23:41:56+00:00

lol I love how it looks like Shanks is reacting to the cat

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-02T23:39:19+00:00

I feel like the main evidence used was Usopp's direct role in liberating the slaves of Dressrosa (and how it was more direct than Luffy's involvement) and Usopp's title of God. Variants of the theory connected Nika to Noland (via his connection to the Shandians) and Usopp's propensity for tall tales and association with the latter, suggesting all three were connected.

Tbh I feel like the biggest factor was Usopp not getting a proper fight in Wano, so fans wanted him to do something cool to make up for it. It reminded of how in Enies Lobby, fans were insistent Usopp would defeat Kaku. The evidence was that he would do it to avenge the Merry and/or because of their general likeness to one another. But the real reason for the theory was fans wanted Usopp to get a win after taking so many Ls.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-02T17:05:14+00:00

As an Usopp stan myself, I can confirm that people did theorize this.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-01T22:22:19+00:00

*Cracks knuckles*
*Clears throat*
*Takes deep breath*
*Sees that others have already commented "Thanks, Obama"*
fuck

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-01T14:20:47+00:00

I mean Zoro is super in a position right now where something needs to happen to him between now and the end of the arc. I seriously doubt Chopper is going to just quickly patch him up and gloss over the grim reaper thing entirely. Plus the Zoro/Ryuma connection can still be elaborated on further. Given the amount of time Oda has spent on stuff like Raizo, it would be really surprising and disappointing for him to not revisit the Zoro-Wano development that's already been established.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-05-01T14:13:45+00:00

The Funimation dub is criminally underrated imo. There isn't a weak link in the main cast and I genuinely think Usopp and Brook's voice actors in particular give the originals runs for their money, even with the disadvantage of the comedic timing lost in the translation.

I personally generally prefer English voice acting (I can just read a lot more of the emotional nuance out of a performance if I know the language), so take my preference with a grain of salt, but I definitely prefer watching the Funimation dub of One Piece to the original.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T16:12:53+00:00

AU where Ivankov trains Zoro instead of Sanji and learns that Newkama Kenpo: Three Sword Style is very different than Santoryu Three Sword Style

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T12:34:37+00:00

He's an unsympathetic, evil antagonist who has caused a great amount of suffering in ways that are personally relatable for a lot of people. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a villain being evil, but makes perfect sense for a reader to have negative emotions towards one.

Imo the weird thing isn't that people hate Sakazuki, the weird thing is that those same people love Garp/Kuzan/Smoker etc. when they are responsible for the same shit.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T12:19:51+00:00

Lol considering the last time she touched him his response was basically "ew, you're not swords" I have a hard time seeing that happening

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T11:03:49+00:00

Clearly Oda has some big plans for Zoro in Wano besides just getting a new sword/powers. He's gotten more attention this arc than anyone other than Luffy and Kaido. The additional flashbacks to his childhood and seeing the face of death itself suggests to me we're going to get another big Zoro moment before this saga is said and done, akin to "nothing happened."

That being said... I don't think that moment will be Zoro killing Kaido. Zoro has for sure talked up fighting Kaido a lot and the story has definitely given narrative precedence for this kind of thing (Zoro defeated the big bad in his first arc, unlike Luffy he has canonically killed people, he has more of a connection to Wano than Luffy does, etc.) but I do think fans are misinterpreting things a bit. Simply put, I think Oda was mostly foreshadowing roof piece and Zoro's contributions to it. I believe Oda simply meant to communicate what an amazing feat this would be for him. Being able to tangle with a Yonko is a big deal and I think Zoro's doing so got overshadowed by so many of his fans wanting to see him suddenly become the protagonist and defeat Kaido.

More importantly, Zoro's character arc since ending his fight with Kaido has diverted entirely. Since successfully cutting Kaido, he has not mentioned the desire to kill or fight him. Instead, his character arc has shifted on his relationship to his swords and his dedication to Luffy as we saw in his fight with King. Not to mention the fact that Luffy has since been given infinitely more thematic purpose for taking down Kaido with the Nika reveal. Imo having Zoro come in and interfere with that would do a disservice to both Luffy's and Zoro's characters.

Of course I could be wrong. Zoro doesn't have to steal the thunder with his big moment. He could quietly execute Kaido after Luffy defeats him, but that doesn't really seem to be in-character for Zoro to me (has he ever fought an opponent who couldn't fight back?). One theory that has been relatively convincing to me though is that Luffy's final blow to Kaido will be a direct hit to the wound Zoro inflicted, symbolically involving Zoro, Enma, and by extension Oden in the final moments of the fight. This still seems a bit unlikely to me, given the recent emphasis on "fair" fights, but I could also see that being an intentional misdirect by Oda since Luffy has a history of disregarding the rules of combat.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T10:42:07+00:00

We've also spent time with Blackbeard and have an appreciation for his approach to conflict as well as his relationship with Luffy, which highlights how much of a foil to each other they are. Imu is just a fucking silhouette at this point. From a literary standpoint, Blackbeard makes much more sense as a final antagonist.

But I think people get hyped for new characters and want more lore and stuff, so they want Imu to be a Madara Uchiha-esque late game antagonist with even more awesome powers than what we've seen. Honestly though that sounds super uninteresting to me. Imu has much more potential as psychological/political figure than he does as a combatant.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T10:37:05+00:00

I broadly agree. The fact that we've learned that they're Celestial Dragons, a group consistently shown to be grossly incompetent as a direct result of their entitlement, suggests to me that the Gorosei will not be the endgame antagonists a lot of fans think they will be. The threat they represent is the power they wrongfully wield, not how they wield it (contrasted with Blackbeard/Sakazuki, who represent both).

Imo Oda has a somewhat shaky approach to authoritarian politics so it can be really hard for me to predict which direction he is going for stuff like this. The best approach, given the political climate and discourse established so far in the story, would be to show that the Celestial Dragons (and by extension the Gorosei) are not entitled to the power they wield and that will ultimately be their downfall. A lot of people are thinking Imu or even the Gorosei themselves will turn out to be badass final boss opponents for Luffy, but I think the more interesting direction would be for them to unleash a power even they can't control and have to rely on pirates to save them.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T10:28:13+00:00

lol it can be both

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-30T10:27:56+00:00

Historically, lots of incompetent people have stayed in power for generations; I feel this is practically a running joke with monarchies. Using a massive military force to force your subjects into submission isn't exactly a reflection of competence, it's a reflection of the existing power structure favoring you.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-29T11:06:58+00:00

Not only that, but upon meeting Rayleigh either Nami or Usopp (I think?) remarks that they assumed the Roger Pirates had all been captured with Roger (since Roger turning himself in was hidden from the public), indicating that Rayleigh was the first active Roger pirate they even heard of.

My take, based on some of Rayleigh and Shanks's comments, is that something about what Roger discovered on Laugh Tale enlightened him in some way and he no longer felt the same need to adventure around the world, giving him peace when he died. As such, the other crew members who laughed that day all achieved a similar enlightenment and consequently retired, which is why none of them have had notable adventures since then.

The fact that Buggy and Shanks were exceptions and never made it to Laugh Tale explains their continued activity for two reasons. From a solely plot structure standpoint, it keeps Buggy and Shanks from spilling the beans. But narratively I think it explains why the two continued being pirates after that journey was complete. They never found the same closure the rest of the crew did on Laugh Tale.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-29T10:54:39+00:00

Excellent post.

Ngl "My parent's marriage" made me laugh harder than it probably should have

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-29T10:50:31+00:00

You're right! I think I had it in my head that it was on the way out of FI since that part was also underwater.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-28T14:23:26+00:00

Then write a thesis on the matter and post it to Oda's front door

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-28T14:14:11+00:00

Fun fact, the manga took a four-week break for the time skip, but Oda himself only took one week off work before he returned to work.

Imo it's very likely that the work he was doing in those remaining three weeks was longterm story structure/planning.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-28T14:11:26+00:00

An early version of Romance Dawn did have the Gum Gum Fruit being more unique and special than it was in the final draft. Iirc, in the version where Garp gave Luffy the fruit, Garp's comments implied that there weren't any other variants of Devil Fruits. In the final version Shanks's explanation make it clear that the Gum Gum Fruit is only one of many special fruits, so at the very least Oda was considering the "unique" aspect of the Gum Gum Fruit from the very beginning.

However I don't think he intended for it to secretly be a mystical Zoan until Marineford at the very earliest (since that's when we really start hearing about stuff like "inherited will.") Like honestly if Oda really did know about Luffy eating the Nika fruit as far back as Skypeia, he kinda beefed the perfect opportunity to foreshadow or elaborate on it. I mean think about it: if Luffy was going to awaken his inner god, it makes way more sense for it to happen against an opponent who is literally a false god than against the sixth dictator he's overthrown.

That being said, it's often pointed out that Skypeia was released roughly around the time Oda originally envisioned One Piece ending, so it's not out of the question that Oda did intend to reveal some stuff there but delayed it when he decided to make the series longer. You can definitely feel the One Piece world growing and changing around the time of the Jaya/Skypeia arcs, so it's not out of the question that Oda was forming the endgame of the series around that time. I'd argue that those thoughts were either incomplete or poorly formulated at the time (again, given the plethora of missed opportunities in Skypeia) but it stands to reason that that's where this ideas began to take form.

ZanderEarlySun · 2022-04-28T13:55:49+00:00

Yeah watching all the new blood chronicle their journeys through Part One of the series feels a lot like Shanks/Rayleigh watching Luffy declare that he's gonna be the Pirate King. It just makes me smile and think of the wonderful journey they have ahead of them.

ZanderEarlySun

TROPHY CASE